Control unit for turbopower transmission apparatus



J. R. HORTON Dec. 13, 1949 CONTROL UNIT FOR TURBOPOWER TRANSMISSION APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 16, 1946 INVENTOR. Jose/@ /9/,072077 ATTD RN EYB J. R. HORTON coNTRoL UNIT FOR TUNBoPowER TRANSMISSION APPARATUS Filed April .16, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I NV EN TOR. Mase/v2? i? Hara J. R. HORTON v CONTROL UNIT Fon TURoPowEn TRANSMISSION APPARATUS Filed .April 1e, 194e 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 l INVENTOR. das e/ /z 'Har/077 ATTD R N EYB Patented Dec. 13, 1949 UNITED- AES PATENT' GONTROL UNI-T FOR-l TURBOPOWER. TRANSMISSION APPARATUS 1v' vllClaiin.

This invention relates to=ia-control unit for `turloo-power transn'iissionA apparatus and: more particularly vtoa speedfresponsive means: employing. centrifugal force anadju'stable bladed turbine wheel-.device adapted for the transmissionf'of.:powerfrom' an`A engine or other sourcel of power tola. load.

Anl object 'of 4theinventiony iste-provide a -de vice that eliminates gear-:shifting that permits the engine to operate under lideal'loa'd.-conditions, that is smoothf 'actionn and'v silent at-all times and willreplacethe.conventionalfclutch ata cost practically similarim manufacture andinstallation.

A further object of thisi-invention.is.to .provide a device which. will be formed-.lot affewl strong1 simpleI and durable parts that is inexpensiveA to manufacture and-will-notfeasily getiout'oforder.

A still further object of. the invention. is to provide a speed-responsive'unitwhich-offerscomplete controlofthe blade settings of an-adjustable bladedy turbine wheel det/ice,l adapted for the transmissionof power from-an=engine=toa load.

By adjustment of the blade settings. of `the turbine wheel device, the' unit offers aaitomatic adjustment of the-load. Whichis placed uponthe engine. to which it is attached.

Ilhe desired load upon the engine cane be se -lected by the manufacturer -andfadjustment so made at the factory that itis impossiblefor .theA operator to exceed this .load I n With the above-andother objects in .view the :inventionconsists of. certairrnovel-.details -of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter i more fully described andiclaimeclpit .being understood that various modifications-may be-'resorted to within thescope ofthe appended-claim without departing fromA the .spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. y

In the accompanying drawings .forming .apart of this specification.;

Figure A'1 Iis a longitudinal sectional. View oan embodiment of'u vtl'i'e invention.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional viewtaken 'on the A line 2-2 .of Figure l'looking inthe direction .of

the arrows;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view 'taken on the lline 3--3 of .Figure 1 lookingin the direction of the arrows; A

Figure 4 is across seetijonai View taken entire loli'g th "(dbi df Figure is a frontvv elevation of "the pronged collar whichcarriesthe governor '-we'ights;

generated byA sel-fecontained' governor weightsto adiust'thebladesettings of 4by centrifugal. #forces .coil springf Figure-6` is a front. eleva-tion of the controlfcol'- lar shown in Figure 4 and.4

Figure Tis ai crossv sectional view.` on the line '1e-1f of. Figurel 6 looking: in the: direction of the arrows Referring new ltof the drawings, the numeral I0 designates the control unit, housing which is bolted tothe housing; t2 ofthe fly-wheel I4@ in place of the lusual clutch housing. there being no: clutch lnecessary whenv this Vunit is used in conjunction with an adjustablel bladed turbine wheel device: However, the controllA unit can be bolted onto the' for-.ward endl ofl the: transmission which: lit controls-,or Aboth the. transmission and thev control unit may be.. mounted separately, with a universal jointrorrv thef shaft which con- .nectsthem' The actionv of Vthewcontroll unit depends upon the centrifugal 4forca-exerted by the governor weights |6 whichiare. Weighted on. f'ulcrum. pins I8, these pins being set ina pronged coliarA 20 which is-vshown. in elevation` in. Figure. 5.. The .pronged collar 220 .is pressed-on a--shaft 2:2' which extends longitudinallyiof the; control unit housing lfandisconnected. at. the rear endy to the driving shaft of. a. transmission; preferably through the. mediumot a.- universal .joint such connection. not being'. shown.

The arms `2li which.. carry the.. weights. I6. extend. through. andI beyond the collar 2:0 andengage links 'Mi whichfare. connected` to a control coll-ar'ZB. which. is slidably mounted. on theshaft 22.... When. .theI weights 1.6 are thrown. outwardly the. control collar 23. is pushed toward the rear and'swings a control arm 3\l.- The control arm is carried -by a shaft 32, oneend of= which. extends through! the housing l-.El Vand-is equipped outside. of the: housing with a. crank. arm v3ll anda-crank arm 36;

.Crankarm. 34" engage's,by means. of a suitable connecting rod 38, the control arm of the turbine wheel. device. whose blade settings. are to be .determined-.by the. controli unit.. Crank arm 36. is engagedfby meansA of,` a suitable connecting rod), not shown, with. a vacuumV controlled piston which is controlledby Athe vacuum created in the :in-take manifoldv oi! the vgasoline engine. to which this unit is attached.. This vacuum controlled piston is of' the standard type. in common use and is not a. part ofY this. invention.

In the .eventthis unit lis. attached to a motor vehicle powered by a compression. ignition engine .where yno vacuum is .lavailabler the vacuum controlled lpiston'is' substitnited by4 an. ordinary one .endet which. is. attached to crank arm 36 and the opposite end is attached to the foot brake pedal of the vehicle.

Industrial applications of this unit to compression ignition engines require that crank arm 36 be connected by a coil spring to the throttle lever of the engine or to a separate lever.

The shaft 22 is carried in a main bearing 39 at the rear of the housing I6 and an oil retaining washer 40 seals the shaft where it leaves the housing. The shaft 22 is provided with a spline 42 at its forward end which engages with a spline 44 in the hub of the iiywheel I4.

The weights I6 of which there are four innumber have projections 46 which snugly t in slots 48 cut in the flywheel I4. See Figure 2. The twist of sudden starting and stopping is carried by the projections engaged through the flywheel I4 and is not transmitted to the pins I8 upon which the weights are carried.

Mounted at the forward end of the housing IIJ is a shaft 56 having crank arms 52,Y see Figure 3, which engage a cup shaped collar 54. The collar is carried by pins 56, see. Figure 1, thesevpins being freeto slide back and forth in holes formed in the forward side of the iiywheel housing and continued into part of the motor block.

A lever 58, see Figures 2 and 3, is connected to the shaft 56 outside of the housing ID and is connected to the conventional emergency or hand brake lever of the vehicle. In case of industrial application this may be a separate lever. When the hand brake lever is set, the collar 54 is pushed over the projection 46 of the weights I6 and the weights are held against the shaft 22 regardless of the speed of the engine so that the control unit and its associated turbine wheel device are in neutral. The conventional starter of the motor is arranged in an extension' of the housing I 0, see Figure 2, to engage the toothed rim 62of the flywheel I4. Toward the rear of the housing I between the collar 28 and the main bearing 39 is an oil pump 64 which is bolted on the underneath side of the housing I6 and is easily accessible. The pump 64 being operated by the vertical shaft 66 having a gear`68 thereon meshing with the gear 'I0 on the shaft 22. An intake pipe 12, picksup oil in the bottom of the housing` I0 and the pump supplies the oil through an outlet pipe 'I4 to the main bearing 36, the control collar 28, projection 46 and the cup shaped collar 54. The pronged collar and the parts carried thereby are splash lubricated by the supply from the control collar 28.

The oil level in the housing I6 is determined when filling by an oil level plug 16. A drain plug 'I8 is disposed on the bottom of the housing I0 and there is an oil ller plug not shown disposed at a convenient point above the level of the shaft 22.

Since little pressure is required in this unit the pump 64 is of the low speed, low pressure type, also the shape and arrangement of the various parts of the unit prevent the weights' I 6 from splashing in the oil when they are at or near the outside orbit of their travel. It should bev pointed out that should any of the linking mechanism become loose or broken, the rim of the flywheel I4 is in such position as to catch the weights I6 before any further damage can be done. An inspection plate 80 is removably secured to the top of the housing and permits adjustment or repair to the governor weight assembly.

After the foregoing detailed description of the component rparts of this apparatus, a brief description of its functioning under actual working conditions may now be in order. If careful attention has been paid to the nomenclature used in the previous descriptions, the numerical designation of each part may now be left oif entirely.

The following description is based upon the assumption that the control unit is attached to a motor vehicle, although its action in industrial applications is essentially the same.

While the vehicle is stationary, the engine idling and the conventional hand brake for the vehicle wheels is applied, the cup shaped collar will be moved by the hand brake linkage to a position where it is tted snugly over the projections on the governor weights which extend thru the flywheel, Thus if the throttle is opened while the hand brake is applied, this collar holds the weights snugly against the shaft and there is no action by the apparatus to be imparted to its associated turbine wheel device.

The weights however willlie against the shaft while the engine is idling, Whether or not the hand brake lever is set and the collarislin place or not, due to the pull of thevacuum controlled piston connected to the crank arm v36. The vacuum which actuates this piston is at a maximum while the throttle is closed. In the case of a compression ignition engine, this condition applies while the engine is idlingV and the foot brake lever is depressed.

When the hand brake of the vehicle is released and the throttle opened, thevacuum controlled piston releases crank arm 36 and the centrifugal force created by the increased speed causes the weights to fly outward. This'action causes the collar 28 toslide toward the rear of the unit, carrying with it control arm 36 and the shaft 32 upon which this arm is mounted.

The turning of shaft 32 causes crank arm 3.4 to move thru an arc, this movement being used, by means of a suitable connecting rod, to change the setting of the blades of the turbine wheel device or transmission, which is controllefi by this apparatus. l

Now it can readily be seen that the action of this unit is to apply more and more pressure to the control arm of the turbine wheel device to which it is attached, as the speed of the engine is increased. When this device is so designed that the ratio between the driving and driven members is changed by a movement of its control arm, then this control arm may be connected by direct linkage to the crank arm 34 of this control apparatus.

Thus it can be seen that the speed ratio of the crank shaft of the engine and the driven shaft of the turbine wheel device used as a transmission and controlled by this unit may always be such as to place a predetermined load upon the engine. This load varies directly as the speed of the engine varies, and is in no wise dependent upon the manual shifting of gears. The desired load for the engine'may be selected by the manufacturer and is adjustable within any desired limits by changing the length of arms 24, the size of weights I6 or a combination ,of Athese changes.

It should be pointed out herethat weights I6 may be slidably attached to arms 24 and held in place by self-locking bolts. Such an arrangement makes it possible for eld servicemen to quickly change the load which the unit Will place upon the engine.

From the above description it is thought that the construction'and operation of` the invention will be fully undersood Without further explanation.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patents is:

A device of the character described, comprising a driven shaft, a housing for the shaft, a ily- Wheel, a hub for said ywheel splined to the end of said shaft, weights having respective arms, extending along the shaft at idling speed, said weights having projections slidably engaged in openings in the flywheel, a control collar slidably mounted on the shaft, a pronged collar fixed to the shaft pivotally mounting the arms of the weights, links connected to the arms of the weights and to the control collar, a pivot control arm connected to the control collar adapted to be connected to the control rod of a transmission, means for holding the weights stationary at will against movement by centrifugal force, said means comprising a cup shaped collar slidably secured to the hub of said flywheel, and adapted tobe axially movable along said shaft to receive said projections and hold the projections and they' weights against movement by centrifugal force and manually operable means for shifting the cup shaped collar into and out of operative position.

JOSEPH R. HORTON.

REFERENCES CITED following references are of record in the file of this patent:

;, UNITED STATES PATENTS 

